After a long vacation and a lot of family fun, the back-to-school phase can be a bit difficult, especially for kids. From a tighter morning schedule and no more spontaneous snacks, there are many monotonous changes to kids’ schedules when they return to school. However, as a parent or guardian, there is a lot you can do to make the transition easier, starting with some amazing back-to-school snacks. Remember to give your kids a kids multivitamin everyday to fill in any vitamin or mineral gaps they might need.
Healthy Back To School Snacks
The perfect snack – that offers an exquisite mix of taste and healthy nutrition – is a “mythical creature,” especially when prepared for kids with their own preferences and an ever-present appetite for junk food. If your choice of a healthy back-to-school snacks fails to woo your kids, they may lose their appetite or choose something that’s opposite of healthy – no pressure!
So even though it’s essential to focus on health, you should also try preparing snacks that are appetizing and appealing enough so that your kids will want to eat them. Here are some factors to keep in mind when choosing healthy back-to-school snacks for your kids.
- Define what’s healthy for your kid. What’s healthy for one person may not have the same positive effect on another. A good idea would be to look at their overall nutritional intake and ensure they are consuming enough of every food group. If not, building a snack schedule around missing food groups or specific nutritional elements is key.
- Limit processed foods and high-sugar snacks (or snack ingredients) as much as possible. Even if you don’t have the time to prepare a healthy back-to-school snack from scratch, you’ll still want to be discerning with your choices. Also, there are a lot of snacks that require minimal effort and time to prepare.
- Try to give your kids as rich a nutritional mix as possible. It will build up healthy eating habits for the future.
Back To School Snacks Ideas
There are plenty of great back-to-school snack ideas that are not just healthy but quite appetizing – a win-win for the parent and the kid.
Homemade Cheese Crackers: Quick and easy, top your kids’ favorite cheese on top of their favorite cracker. If your kids like prepackaged cheese crackers, they will love these even more!
Banana and Chia Seed Cookies: Bananas are quite healthy for kids but not as popular when presented in their default form. How do you fix this problem? Turn them into cookies! With some chia seeds, coconut oil, egg, cinnamon, and chocolate chips.
Strawberry Bliss Energy Balls: Strawberry energy balls are easy to make and only require a few ingredients: Strawberries, sunflower seeds, oats, shredded coconut, and maple syrup. You can prepare them in just a few minutes and refrigerate them for later use.
PB&J Tacos: An interesting spin on the classic Peanut Butter & Jelly is PB&J tacos that look and taste great. Smooth peanut butter on a tortilla, add chopped strawberries and blueberries, drizzled with honey and top with crushed graham crackers. Fold and enjoy!
Avocado Toast with Turkey: Rich in healthy fats, this is a snack that’s both nutritious and appetizing.
Fruit Skewers: Presentation matters. If you can skewer fruit cuts/chunks, making a rainbow or shades of green, red, etc., your kids might love eating them, even if they won’t eat those fruits separately. Make sure there are enough skewers to make a fulfilling snack.
Mozzarella Sticks (Air Fried): It’s difficult to go wrong when serving mozzarella sticks as snacks. Make them healthier by air frying instead of deep frying.
Homemade Granola Bars: There is an incredible variety of granola bar recipes that you can easily prepare, most of which include very healthy ingredients. They can give your kids a much-needed energy boost after school.
Brookies: What’s better than a brownie and a cookie? A brookie – you get the best of both worlds. This is a sweet delight that may take a while to prepare, but your kids will love them!
These are just some back-to-school snack ideas that might brighten your kid’s school days. Whip up one (or more) of these to encourage your kids to eat healthy.
